STRictly ACcording (to regulations) an epithet applied to officers and NCOs who 'go by the book' and seem totally unable to think for themselves. The military equivalent of a Jobsworth, frequently linked with REMF.

Frequent complaint from the Vietnam War, "That STRAC REMF insisted we polish our boots before going out into the boonies to hunt Charlie"

The second sense referring jocularly to the readiness level that was needed in "rapid deployment" units -- troops who would need to activate/deploy in as little as 2 hours if the Russians really were coming (Cold War)

"You've all got inspection at 0700 hours tomorrow. That's a full gear inspection by the CO, and you BETTER be looking STRAC!"

Originally a military acronym for STRategic Army Corps. An elite unit, the word became a term of compliment; "to be Strac" meant "to be militarily excellent" in both dress and skill. Usually "back-formed" to mean "Strategic, Tactical and Ready Around the Clock" and several other "backronyms." However, as all words tend to do, the meaning drifted, the sense becoming more of excellence in military appearance than military skill ... to the point where being called "Strac" came to mean that he looks like a recruiting poster but couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag.

ORIGINAL: "Wow, did you hear what Sergeant Jones did on the line last week? If we had ten of him, the war would be over in a week. What a STRAC soldier!"